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Subject-Verb Agreement Part 2
Subject-Verb Agreement Part 2
Subject-Verb Agreement
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Subject-Verb Agreement
More Grammar Rules:
NOTE
We will use the standard of underlining subjects once and verbs twice.
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of subject-verb agreement.
Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many,
perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.
Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)
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Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.
Examples:
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd sentence:
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.
Better:
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.
Exceptions:
In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
NOTE
Examples:
While not grammatically incorrect per se, it is a courtesy to place the pronoun last, except when awkward to do so as shown under Rule 3 above.
Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are
not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.
Examples:
Rule 6. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
NOTE:
The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences like There's a lot of people here today, because it's easier to say
"there's" than "there are." Take care never to use there's with a plural subject.
Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Examples:
BUT
Rule 8a. With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a majority, some, all—Rule 1 given earlier in this section is reversed, and we are guided by
the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.
Examples:
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
NOTE
Some teachers, editors, and the SAT testing service, perhaps for convenience, have considered none to be strictly singular. However, authorities
agree that none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is. If in context it seems like a singular to you, use a singular verb; if it
seems like a plural, use a plural verb. When none is clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular verb.
Rule 8b. With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's
intent.
Examples:
A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.
NOTE
Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be done carelessly. The
following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:
Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staff in the same sentence.
Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
Rule 9. The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:
Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not was. The sentence
demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express a hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory thought. The subjunctive
mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs.
Examples:
Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is
correct.
Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.
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7/3/2021 Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules
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Subject and Verb Agreement
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Who / Whom / Whoever / Whomever
Who vs. Which vs. That
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